Rays Can Clinch Tonight

Eight of 10 playoff spots are accounted for heading into the final weekend of the regular season. All six divisions have been decided, so the only races left are for seeding and the AL wild-card spots. Three teams remain in that mix.

Thursday’s big games:

Indians at Twins, 8:10pm ET

Angels at Rangers, 8:05pm ET

Rays at Yankees, 7:05pm ET

Thursday’s possible clinchers

The Rays will clinch at least a share of a wild-card spot with a win AND a Rangers loss. The Rays have a one-game lead on the Indians and a two-game lead on the Rangers for the top wild-card spot, and thus homefield advantage in the wild-card game. Tampa has a 51-30 (.630) record at Tropicana Field this season compared to 38-39 (.494) on the road, so landing that top wild-card spot is kind of a big deal.